Three well-known underwater recreational activities are self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving, snorkeling, and Snuba® diving. However, these underwater recreational activities either require burdensome equipment or in some way restrict the diver to shallow depths near the shore.
A SCUBA diver is able to reach water depths of greater than one hundred feet. Although the diver is allowed a great amount of mobility, the equipment involved with SCUBA diving is usually very heavy and cumbersome. Typically, a SCUBA diver will carry about sixty to seventy-five pounds of equipment with him/her out into the water. Divers usually breathe compressed air or Nitrox which is contained in a cylinder carried on the diver's back. The typical cylinder is made of aluminum and weighs about thirty-one pounds when empty. When filled with about 3,000 psi of gas, the cylinder can weigh up to seven pounds more. Divers usually carry additional smaller air tanks, in preparation for any emergencies that may arise. To control buoyancy, a SCUBA diver must also carry a Buoyancy Control Device. The diver must also wear additional lead weights, due to the natural buoyancy of the diver's wet suit. A SCUBA diver typically also uses a mask, fins to propel him/her, and a regulator which allows the diver to breathe the air from the cylinder.
Snorkeling on the other hand, does not require as much equipment as SCUBA diving. A snorkeler typically uses only a mask, a snorkel, and fins. A snorkeler uses a J-shaped hollow snorkel to breathe air directly from the atmosphere. And because a snorkeler does not use any gas cylinders, the snorkeler must keep one end of the snorkel above water-level at all times. Therefore, the snorkeler cannot explore the deeper parts of the water the way a SCUBA diver can.
Snuba® is a combination of SCUBA diving and snorkeling. While underwater, a Snuba® diver breathes through a twenty-foot air hose which is connected to a standard SCUBA cylinder located on an inflatable raft. As the Snuba® diver swims, he/she tows the raft along with him/her. Although Snuba® diving relieves the diver from having to carry the heavy SCUBA equipment, it is dangerous for a diver to be coupled to an unattended raft. High winds and strong current may capsize or drag the raft, pulling the Snuba® diver along with it. Furthermore, the Snuba® diver would not know if there are any leaks or other problems with the cylinder, since no one is present on the raft to monitor it or warn the diver. Furthermore, a Snuba® diver may only explore those areas to which he/she can swim. If a Snuba® diver is not a very strong swimmer, he/she may not be able to venture that far away from shore for fear that he/she may not be able to swim the distance back.
Therefore a need existed for an underwater recreation apparatus that allows a diver to explore varying water depths with minimal and manageable equipment and that allows the diver to cover substantial distances with minimal physical strain.